UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
FORM 10-K
(Mark one)
| þ | ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 |
For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2003
OR
| o | TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 |
For the transition period from ____________________________ to ___________________________
Commission file number 001-07155
R.H. DONNELLEY CORPORATION
| Delaware | 13-2740040 | |
| (State of Incorporation) | (IRS Employer Identification No.) | |
| One Manhattanville Road, Purchase, N.Y. | 10577 | |
| (Address of Principal Executive Offices) | (Zip Code) |
Registrants telephone number, including area code
|
(914) 933-6400 | |
| Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act: |
| Title of Class | Name of Exchange on Which Registered | |
| Common Stock, par value $1 per share | New York Stock Exchange |
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None
Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant: (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Sections 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.
| þ | Yes No o |
Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K (Section 229.405 of this chapter) is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of Registrants knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K. [ ]
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is an accelerated filer (as defined in Exchange Act Rule 12b-2 of the Act).
| þ | Yes No o |
(continued)
The aggregate market value at June 30, 2003, the last day of our most recently completed second quarter, of shares of the Registrants common stock (based upon the closing price per share of $36.47 of such stock on The New York Stock Exchange on such date) held by non-affiliates of the Registrant was approximately $1,115,526,000. At June 30, 2003, there were 30,725,980 outstanding shares of the Registrants common stock, not including any shares of common stock beneficially owned by The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. The aggregate market value at March 8, 2004 of shares of the Registrants common stock (based upon the closing price per share of $43.81 of such stock on The New York Stock Exchange on such date) held by non-affiliates of the Registrant was approximately $1,354,360,900. For purposes of both of these calculations, only those shares held by directors and executive officers of the Registrant and shares beneficially owned by The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. have been excluded as held by affiliates. Such exclusion should not be deemed a determination or an admission by the Registrant that such individuals or entities are, in fact, affiliates of the Registrant. At March 8, 2004, there were 31,053,015 outstanding shares of the Registrants common stock, not including any shares of common stock beneficially owned by The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.
Commission file number 333-59287
R.H. DONNELLEY INC. *
| Delaware | 36-2467635 | |
| (State of Incorporation) | (IRS Employer Identification No.) | |
| One Manhattanville Road, Purchase, N.Y. | 10577 | |
| (Address of Principal Executive Offices) | (Zip Code) | |
| Registrants telephone number, including area code | (914) 933-6400 |
| * | R.H. Donnelley Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of R.H. Donnelley Corporation. R.H. Donnelley Inc. meets the conditions set forth in General Instructions I 1(a) and (b) of Form 10-K and is therefore filing this report with respect to R.H. Donnelley Inc. with the reduced disclosure format. R.H. Donnelley Inc. became subject to the filing requirements of Section 15(d) on October 1, 1998 in connection with the public offer and sale of its 9 1/8% Senior Subordinated Notes, which Notes were redeemed in full on February 6, 2004. In addition, R.H. Donnelley Inc. is the obligor of 8 7/8% Senior Notes due 2010 and 10 7/8% Senior Subordinated Notes due 2012 and is now subject to the filing requirements of Section 15(d) as a result of such notes. As of March 8, 2004, 100 shares of R.H. Donnelley Inc. common stock, no par value, were outstanding. |
Documents Incorporated By Reference
| Part III | ||||
| Item 10 | Directors and Executive Officers of the Registrant | Information
responsive to this
Item can be found
under the captions
Board of
Directors and
Section 16(a)
Beneficial
Ownership Reporting
Compliance in the
Companys Proxy
Statement to be
filed with the
Commission prior to
March 31, 2004. |
||
| Item 11 | Executive Compensation | Information
responsive to this
Item can be found
under the caption
Director and
Executive
Compensation in
the Companys Proxy
Statement to be
filed with the
Commission prior to
March 31, 2004. |
||
| Item 12 | Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters | Information
responsive to this
Item can be found
under the caption
Security Ownership
of Certain
Beneficial Owners
and Management in
the Companys Proxy
Statement to be
filed with the
Commission prior to
March 31, 2004. |
||
| Item 13 | Certain Relationships and Related Transactions | Information
responsive to this
Item can be found
under the caption
Director and
Executive
Compensation
Compensation
Committee
Interlocks and
Insider
Participation;
Certain
Relationships and
Related Party
Transactions in
the Companys Proxy
Statement to be
filed with the
Commission prior to
March 31, 2004. |
||
| Item 14 | Principal Accountant Fees and Services | Information
responsive to this
Item can be found
under the caption
Board of
Directors-Committees
of the Board of
Directors-Audit and
Finance Committee
and Report of the
Audit and Finance
Committee-Fees in the
Companys Proxy
Statement to be
filed with the
Commission prior to
March 31, 2004. |
2
PART I
| ITEM 1. | BUSINESS |
Except where otherwise indicated, the terms Company, Donnelley, RHD, we, us and our refer to R.H. Donnelley Corporation and its direct and indirect wholly owned subsidiaries. R.H. Donnelley Inc. is our wholly owned direct subsidiary. Our executive offices are presently located at One Manhattanville Road, Purchase, New York 10577 and our telephone number is (914) 933-6400. We expect to relocate our executive offices to North Carolina during the first half of 2004. At that time, our address will be 1001 Winstead Drive, Cary, North Carolina 27513, and our telephone number will be (800) 497-6329. Our Internet website address is www.rhd.com. We make available free of charge on our website our annual, quarterly and current reports, including amendments to such reports, as soon as practicable after we electronically file such material with, or furnish such material to, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Our filings can also be obtained from the SEC website at www.sec.gov or by calling toll free the SEC Office of Public Reference at (800) 942-8090. However, the information found on our website or the SEC website is not part of this annual report.
Corporate Overview
We are the sixth largest directory publisher in the United States based on revenue. We have been in the yellow pages business in various capacities for over 100 years. We now publish 260 Sprint-branded, revenue-generating yellow pages directories in 18 states and have a total circulation of approximately 18 million, serving approximately 160,000 local and 4,000 national advertisers. Through The DonTech II Partnership (DonTech), our partnership with an affiliate of SBC Communications Inc. (SBC), we sell advertising for an additional 129 SBC-branded directories in Illinois and northwest Indiana with a total circulation of approximately 10 million, serving approximately 100,000 local advertisers. Many local advertisers rely on the yellow pages directories as their primary or sole method of advertising.
On January 3, 2003, we acquired all the outstanding common stock of the various entities comprising Sprint Publishing and Advertising (SPA), Sprint Corporations (Sprint) directory publishing business. See SPA Acquisition below for a further description of the acquisition. The acquisition transformed Donnelley from a sales agent and pre-press vendor into a leading publisher of yellow pages directories. Prior to the SPA acquisition, we were one of the largest independent sales agents and pre-press vendors for yellow pages advertising in the United States.
Commencing in 2003, our operating and financial results reflect our yellow pages publishing business, rather than our former business as a sales agent and pre-press vendor for yellow pages advertising on behalf of other publishers, including SPA. As a publisher, we report the full value of advertising sales and certain direct costs under the deferral and amortization method. As a sales agent and pre-press vendor for yellow pages advertising, in 2001 and 2002 our revenue reflected sales commissions and pre-press fees from, or other transactions with, our business partners, including SPA, and our expenses were charged to earnings as incurred. DonTech remained unchanged following the SPA acquisition, and our financial presentation of DonTech is consistent for all periods presented in this annual report.
In addition, in the first quarter of 2003, we revised our historical segment reporting to reflect the change in our business that resulted from the SPA acquisition and to reflect the way management now reviews and analyzes the business. Our reportable operating segments are now Donnelley and DonTech. The Donnelley segment includes the revenue from our 260 Sprint-branded yellow pages directories and our pre-press publishing services contract with SBC, and all operating and administrative expenses. The DonTech segment includes revenue participation income and our 50% interest in the net profits of DonTech. See Note 14 to the Companys audited consolidated financial statements included in Item 8 of this annual report and Managements Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations in Item 7 of this annual report for more information regarding the Companys segments.
SPA Acquisition
On January 3, 2003, we completed the acquisition of SPA by purchasing the stock of two subsidiaries of Sprint, DirectoriesAmerica, Inc. and Centel Directory Company (Centel), for $2.23 billion in cash. See Managements Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations in Item 7 of this annual report for more information regarding the financing for, and financial implications of, the SPA acquisition.
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In connection with the acquisition of SPA, we entered into a directory services license agreement, a trademark license agreement and a non-competition agreement (collectively, Directory Services Agreements) with Sprint. The directory services license agreement gives us the exclusive right to produce, publish and distribute directories for Sprint in the markets in 18 states where Sprint provided local telephone service at the time of the transaction. The trademark license agreement gives us the exclusive right to use certain Sprint trademarks, including the Sprint diamond logo, in those markets. The non-competition agreement prohibits Sprint in those markets from selling local directory advertising or producing, publishing and distributing print directories, with certain limited exceptions. These agreements are all interrelated and each has an initial term of 50 years, subject to earlier termination under specified circumstances.
The acquisition was accounted for as a purchase business combination. The purchase price was allocated to the tangible and identifiable intangible assets acquired and liabilities assumed based on their respective fair values on the acquisition date. The results of the SPA business have been included in our consolidated results from and after January 3, 2003.
Products and Services
We have two principal directory types: a core directory and a community directory. Core directories generally cover large population areas, whereas community directories typically cover a sub-section of the areas addressed by a core directory. For example, in Lee County, Florida, we publish one core directory and four community directories, Sanibel-Captiva Island, South Fort Myers, Cape Coral/North Fort Myers and Lehigh Acres, that together cover the majority of the core Lee County directory, but not the entire market. Most core directories contain yellow pages, white pages and specialty sections, such as area information, guides and government pages. Community directories also consist of yellow pages, white pages and specialty sections.
The table below details our principal revenue-generating product offerings.
Principal Products
| Type |
Description |
|
Stylized listings for white and
yellow pages
|
Listings appearing in-column consist of name, address and telephone number and are available in a variety of type styles and limited color | |
Trade items
|
Advertising space, designed to promote brand name of product or service, placed alphabetically within the column listings of the yellow pages | |
Space items
|
Advertising space sold in 1/2 inch increments appearing alphabetically within the column listings of the yellow pages | |
Display ads
|
Advertising placed within a heading by size and then by seniority our ad sizes range from a quarter column to a double full page | |
Color
|
Various levels of color including spot-four color, enhanced color, process photo and hi-impact are available for display products | |
White pages logos
|
Listings allowing space for illustrative art work | |
Bestredyp.com
|
Internet (on-line) yellow pages and city guide available in targeted markets with electronic look and feel version of related print directory and typical Internet search engine view |
In addition to these principal products, we offer a broad range of specialty products that advertisers use to differentiate and enhance their display of information. The table below is an overview of the main revenue-generating specialty products that we offer:
4
Specialty Products
| Type |
Description |
|
Cover products
|
Advertising sold on the bottom-half of the front cover, the inside front cover, the inside back cover and the outside back cover | |
Tabs
|
Full page advertising bound into the directory, offering front and back space printed on card stock with a tab protrusion or die-cut indented tab | |
Ride-alongs
|
Advertisements placed with the directory delivery bag | |
Blow-in cards
|
Loose postcard-like products inserted into directories | |
Guides (Internet, golf, menu, etc.)
|
Sections in the directories on a specific interest area with feature information and banner advertising |
Internet-based directory and electronic products
We recently began offering an Internet-based directory service, bestredyp.com, to our advertisers in targeted markets and plan to continue to expand this offering. Historically, SPA did not offer advertisers any significant Internet platform. Bestredyp.com provides a city portal with information about the targeted market, along with electronic versions of the white and yellow pages directories. We provide users a dual purpose interface that allows them to view the directory information in either a typical Internet search engine view or the look and feel view that emulates the appearance of our print directories. We currently view our Internet-based directory product as a complement to our print directory product rather than as a stand-alone business. We utilize our existing sales force and customer relationships to enable us to provide the directory content in a digital format. Our electronic products focus on a local experience by offering rich local content to consumers, which requires little incremental effort by our sales force to gather. We also utilize a low cost production platform. In DonTech markets, their sales force currently offers the SBC Smart Pages Internet product and a Chicago city guide product.
We believe that increased usage of Internet-based directories will continue to support overall usage in the United States directory advertising industry. We intend to continue to explore new means to deliver our advertisers content to consumers.
Business Cycle Overview
Our directories generally have a 12-month directory cycle period, except Las Vegas, which has two six-month directory cycles. A publication cycle generally spans 15 to 20 months from the beginning of the sales cycle to the end of a directorys life and is comprised of several stages. The marketing stage is generally completed before the end of the first month. The sales stage picks up at the completion of the marketing stage and generally runs through the following five months. The sales stage closes approximately 70 days prior to publication. Production and printing is the next stage, usually lasting an additional two months. Finally, distribution generally occurs over the final month. Customer service and billing and collections stages are provided after distribution of a directory and throughout the directory cycle.
Sales
Sales are conducted on the local level through premise representatives, telephone representatives and letter renewals, and, on the national level, through national account managers who sell primarily to Certified Marketing Representatives (CMRs) serving national advertisers. We distinguish between national advertisers, which advertise in 20 or more directories and span three or more states with at least two different publishers, and local advertisers, which are primarily small-and medium-sized businesses located within our markets. In general, advertising from the local channel continues to represent the majority of our revenue, accounting for approximately 85% of directory advertising revenue, while approximately 15% is derived from the national channel.
5
Local Sales Organization
Our local sales channel is segmented into three sales sub-channels: premise sales, telephone sales and letter renewal. Premise sales representatives conduct sales calls at customers business locations and typically handle higher dollar and more complex accounts. Telephone sales representatives handle lower dollar value accounts and conduct their sales over the phone. Letter renewal is used to contact very low dollar value customers that have renewed their account for the same product for several years.
National Sales Organization
Our national sales channel is managed through our national sales department, which seeks to increase national directory revenues by developing and maintaining favorable relationships with CMRs and national advertisers. CMRs have historically been the national media buyers of yellow pages advertising for national advertisers. During 2003, we began acting as a CMR ourselves directly placing certain national advertising. National account managers are the primary point of contact for all communication and business dealings between RHD and CMRs. National account managers and national sales representatives are accountable for overall national revenue objectives.
Pre-press and Information Technology Management Services
Pre-press services include canvass and assignment preparation, graphics and ad composition, contract processing, database management and pagination. We provide comprehensive tools and information to effectively conduct sales and marketing planning, sales management, sales compensation and customer service activities. Our information management and pre-press publishing systems are located primarily in facilities in Morrisville, North Carolina, with additional services provided in facilities located in Bristol, Tennessee and in Dunmore, Pennsylvania. In addition, prior to closure during 2003, certain pre-press publishing services were provided from a facility located in Blountville, Tennessee.
Printing and Distribution
All directories are printed through our long-standing relationship with printing vendor R.R. Donnelley & Sons Company (R.R. Donnelley). We currently have two contracts for the printing of our directories with R.R. Donnelley that expire in December 2005 and December 2007. Although we share a common heritage, no other common ownership or business relationship exists between R.R. Donnelley and us. Printing is one of our largest cost items accounting for approximately 10% of our total operating and general and administrative expenses.
The delivery of directories is facilitated through several outsourcing relationships. Delivery methods utilized to distribute directories to consumers are selected based on factors such as cost, quality, geography and market need. Primary delivery methods include United States Postal Service and hand delivery. Occasionally we may use United Parcel Service or other types of expedited delivery methods. Frequently a combination of these methods is required to meet the needs of the marketplace.
DonTech Overview
DonTech sells advertising for 129 SBC-branded directories in Illinois and northwest Indiana with a combined circulation of approximately 10 million in 2003. These directories provide advertising for approximately 100,000 local advertisers. These directories also provide advertising for national advertisers, although DonTech plays no role with respect to the sale of national advertising, which is performed by SBC itself.
Our relationship with SBC
DonTech is our 50/50 perpetual partnership with an affiliate of SBC, which remained unchanged as a result of our acquisition of SPA. Our relationship with telephone companies presently owned by SBC began in 1908. Since then, we have maintained a variety of contractual relationships with these telephone companies regarding directory publication and advertising sales. Under the current partnership arrangements, DonTech is the exclusive sales agent in perpetuity for the 129 yellow pages directories published by SBC in Illinois and northwest Indiana. DonTech provides local advertising sales services for these directories and earns a commission from SBC. Under our agreements with SBC, we have a 50% interest in the net profits of DonTech and also receive revenue participation
6
income directly from SBC. The amount of revenue participation income we earn is based on a percentage of DonTech advertising sales. Revenue participation income comprises approximately 80% to 85% of our total income related to DonTech and is paid directly to us through an affiliate of SBC.
We account for our investment in DonTech under the equity method and record all our income from DonTech as partnership income. DonTech is considered a separate operating segment because, among other things, it has its own Board of Directors and the employees of DonTech, including its officers and managers, are not our employees. DonTechs Board of Directors consists of six members. Each partner appoints two members, one voting and one advisory, and the CEO and CFO of DonTech are non-voting members. In general, most major decisions are required to be made at the DonTech Board of Directors level and require the affirmative vote of both our and SBCs voting directors.
The revenue participation agreement between us and APIL Partners (an SBC affiliate to whom Donnelley transferred its membership interest in the publisher in exchange for the grant of the revenue participation interests) provides that we are entitled to a payment similar to a royalty. This interest is equal to DonTechs specified gross advertising sales, subject to allowances for claims (capped at 2.4%) and doubtful accounts (capped at 3.7%), less the DonTech partnership commissions of 27.0%, all multiplied by 35.9%.
The exclusive sales agency agreement between APIL Partners and DonTech establishes that DonTech enjoys exclusive agency status to solicit and sell local advertising for SBCs directories in Illinois and northwest Indiana.
The DonTech partnership agreement and related SBC contractual arrangements have perpetual terms. These arrangements only terminate upon the occurrence of certain enumerated events, including, without limitation, the unremedied breaches of certain material provisions thereof, the mutual agreement of the parties, the bankruptcy of a partner or parent or a change in control of a partner (excluding a change in control of the ultimate parent company of the partner), acquisition by one partner of the others partnership interest, a transfer of a partners interest in violation of the transfer provisions contained in the partnership agreement, or a decision by the Board to dissolve that would require agreement of our representatives on the Board. In addition, under applicable law, the contractual arrangements potentially may not remain in effect in perpetuity. In the event that APIL Partners breaches its obligations under the revenue participation agreement, we have the right to reacquire our interest in the publishing entity for a nominal amount.
We also provide certain pre-press publishing services to SBC under a separate publishing services agreement that extends through 2008, and billing and information technology support services under separate agreements that extend through 2005 and 2008, respectively.
Historical Overview of Donnelley
Prior to the SPA acquisition, we were one of the largest independent sales agents and pre-press vendors for yellow pages advertising in the United States. In that capacity, we sold advertising for more than 170 yellow pages directories with a total circulation of over 15 million. We sold yellow pages advertising either directly through our own sales force on behalf of SPA, or indirectly through DonTech. We also provided pre-press publishing services for approximately 227 yellow pages directories, including all of the directories for which Donnelley and DonTech sold advertising as well as for an independent publisher for whom our services ended in the first quarter of 2003. DonTech remained unchanged following the SPA acquisition, and our financial presentation of DonTech is consistent for all periods presented in this annual report.
Prior to the acquisition of SPA, Donnelley sold yellow pages advertising in certain markets in Florida, Nevada, North Carolina and Virginia under contractual agreements with affiliates of Sprint. The agreements governing the relationships allowed Sprint to gain the benefits of Donnelleys long-term presence in these markets, its yellow pages advertising sales and pre-press publishing expertise, its established infrastructure and its performance-focused, non-union employees. Donnelley benefited from its agreements with Sprint, as Sprint is the major incumbent telephone company in those Florida, Nevada, North Carolina and Virginia markets and one of two major incumbent telephone companies in the greater Orlando market. See our annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2002 for further details regarding our historical relationship with Sprint, SPAs operations prior to the acquisition and our prior segment reporting.
7
Competition
Yellow Pages Advertising Sales
The United States directory advertising industry is highly competitive. Approximately 90% of total United States directory advertising sales are attributable to Regional Bell Operating Company (RBOC) directory publishers that typically publish directories where they offer local phone service. In addition, more than 240 independent publishers operating in the United States compete with those RBOC publishers. In nearly all markets, we compete with one or more yellow pages directory publishers, which are predominantly independent publishers. In some markets, we compete on a limited basis with RBOC directory publishers in adjacent markets. One of these publishers, Verizon Information Services, the directory business affiliated with Verizon Communications, Inc., has begun to publish directories and offer local Internet directory services in markets beyond where Verizon Communications offers local phone service, including certain markets where we publish directories. Effectively, Verizon Information Services is competing as an independent publisher in those markets. While no other RBOC publisher has announced similar plans, no assurance can be given that other RBOC publishers will not do so in the future. Many of these RBOC publishers are larger than us and have greater financial resources than we have. No assurances can be given that we will be able to compete effectively with these other publishers for advertising sales or acquisitions in the future.
We also compete for advertising sales with other media, including newspapers, magazines, radio, direct mail, the Internet and television. Additionally, advances in technology have brought new participants, new products and new channels to the industry, including increasing use of electronic delivery of traditional directory information (e.g., Yahoo Yellow Pages) and electronic search engines/services (e.g., Google) as an advertising medium. Many of these competitors are larger than us and have greater financial resources than we have.
In addition, the Telecommunications Act of 1996 opened local telephone markets to increased competition, which may adversely impact the market position of telephone utilities, including Sprint and SBC. In addition, Federal Communication Commission rules regarding local number portability, advances in communications technology (such as wireless devices and voice over Internet protocol) and demographic factors (potential shifts in younger generations away from wireline telephone communications towards wireless or other communications technologies) may further erode the market position of telephone utilities, including Sprint and SBC. As a result, no assurances can be given that Sprint or SBC will remain the primary local telephone service provider in their local service areas. If Sprint were no longer the primary local telephone service provider in any particular local service area, our license to be the exclusive publisher for Sprint in its markets and to use the Sprint brand name on our directories in those markets may not be as valuable as we presently anticipate, and we may not realize some of the anticipated benefits under our commercial arrangements with Sprint. If SBC were no longer the primary local telephone service provider in any DonTech service areas, our income from the DonTech relationship could be adversely affected.
Internet
From 1997 to 2000, overall references to print yellow pages directories in the United States declined; however, overall references to print yellow pages directories have remained stable over the past three years.
We believe the past decline was primarily a result of demographic shifts among consumers, particularly the increase of households in which English was not the primary language spoken. We also believe that the past decline was attributable to increased usage of Internet-based directory products, particularly in business-to-business and retail categories, as well as the proliferation of very large retail stores for which consumers and businesses may not reference the yellow pages.
The yellow pages directory advertising business is subject to changes arising from developments in technology, including information distribution methods and users technological preferences. The use of the Internet by consumers as a means to transact commerce may result in new technologies being developed and services being provided that could compete with our traditional products and services. Our growth and future financial performance may depend on our ability to develop and market new products and services and create new distribution channels, while enhancing existing products, services and distribution channels, to incorporate the latest technological advances and accommodate changing user preferences, including the use of the Internet.
Raw Materials
Our principal raw material is paper. It is one of our largest cost items accounting for approximately 5% to 7% of our total operating and general and administrative expenses. We currently purchase our paper from one vendor under a contract that expires in December 2006. The price of the paper was set at inception of the contract and increases at various dates during the term of the agreement. Should the market price of the paper drop below the set
8
prices, both parties are obligated to negotiate in good faith a lower paper price. We are subject to delays in receiving this principal raw material. Further, changes in the supply of, or demand for, paper could affect delivery times and market prices.
Intellectual Property
We own and control confidential information as well as a number of trade secrets, trademarks, service marks, trade names, copyrights and other intellectual property rights that, in the aggregate, are of material importance to our business. We believe that the Donnelley name and related names, marks and logos are, in the aggregate, material to our business. We are licensed to use certain technology and other intellectual property rights owned and controlled by others, and, similarly, other companies are licensed to use certain technology and other intellectual property rights owned and controlled by us. We have the exclusive license to produce, publish and distribute directories for Sprint in SPAs current markets as well as the exclusive license to use Sprints brand, including Sprints diamond logo, on directories in SPAs current markets, and we acquired the Best Red Yellow Pages® tagline and the look and feel trademarks presently used by SPA. Although we do not consider any individual trademark or other intellectual property to be material to our operations, we believe that, taken as a whole, the licenses we acquired in conjunction with the SPA acquisition are material to our business. We consider our trademarks, service marks, databases, software and other intellectual property to be proprietary, and we rely on a combination of copyright, trademark, trade secret, non-disclosure and contract safeguards for protection. We also benefit from the use of both the phrase yellow pages and the walking fingers logo, which we believe to be in the public domain in the United States.
Employees
As of December 31, 2003, we had approximately 1,300 full-time employees. This number does not include approximately 580 employees of DonTech, who are not employees of Donnelley. None of our employees (or DonTechs) are subject to collective bargaining agreements, and we consider relations with our employees to be good.
Executive Officers of the Registrant
The following table sets forth information concerning the individuals who serve as executive officers of the Company as of March 8, 2004.
| Name |
Age |
Position(s) |
||||
David C. Swanson
|
49 | Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer | ||||
Peter J. McDonald
|
53 | Senior Vice President and President of Donnelley Media | ||||
Steven M. Blondy
|
44 | Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer | ||||
Jenny L. Apker
|
46 | Vice President and Treasurer | ||||
George F. Bednarz
|
50 | Vice President, Publishing, Information Technology and Corporate Planning | ||||
Robert J. Bush
|
38 | Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary | ||||
Thomas D. DOrazio
|
45 | Vice President and Controller Elect* | ||||
William C. Drexler
|
50 | Vice President and Controller* | ||||
William M. Hammack
|
55 | Vice President Strategy and Business Development | ||||
Debra M. Ryan
|
52 | Vice President Human Resources | ||||
| * | Effective April 1, 2004, Mr. DOrazio will replace Mr. Drexler as our Vice President and Controller. Mr. Drexler will be leaving the Company to pursue other opportunities. |
The executive officers serve at the pleasure of the Board of Directors. We have been advised that there are no family relationships among any of the officers listed, and there is no arrangement or understanding among any of them and any other persons pursuant to which they were elected as an officer.
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David C. Swanson has been Chief Executive Officer of Donnelley since May 2002 and Chairman of the Board since December 2002. He was first elected to the Board in December 2001. He served as President and Chief Operating Officer from December 2000 until May 2002. Prior to that, Mr. Swanson served as President of Donnelley Directory Services from March 1999. Mr. Swanson joined Donnelley as an Account Executive and held increasingly senior management positions over the next 15 years. In 1995, he became Executive Vice President of Sales and in 1997 was named Executive Vice President and General Manager of Proprietary Operations. In 1998, he was named Executive Vice President of Corporate Strategy in conjunction with the spin-off from The Dun & Bradstreet Corporation (D&B).
Peter J. McDonald has served as Senior Vice President and President of Donnelley Media since September 2002. Mr. McDonald was a director of RHD between May 2001 and September 2002. Previously, Mr. McDonald served as President and Chief Executive Officer of SBC Directory Operations, a publisher of yellow pages directories, from October 1999 to April 2000. He was President and Chief Executive Officer of Ameritech Publishings yellow pages business from 1994 to 1999, when Ameritech was acquired by SBC. Mr. McDonald was President and Chief Executive Officer of DonTech from 1993 to 1994. Prior to that time, he served in a variety of sales positions at Donnelley, after beginning his career at National Telephone Directory Corporation. He is also a past vice chairman of the Yellow Pages Integrated Marketing Association (then known as Yellow Pages Publishers Association).
Steven M. Blondy has served as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer since March 2002. Prior to joining Donnelley, Mr. Blondy served as Senior Vice President Corporate Development for Young & Rubicam, Inc., a global marketing and communications company, from 1998 to 2000. Mr. Blondy served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for Poppe Tyson, a leading Internet and integrated marketing communications agency, from 1996 to 1997. Mr. Blondy served as Chief Financial Officer for Grundy Worldwide, an independent producer of television programs in Europe and Australia, from 1994 to 1995. Prior to that, he spent 12 years in the investment banking industry with Chase Manhattan Bank and Merrill Lynch.
Jenny L. Apker has served as Vice President and Treasurer of Donnelley since May 2003. Prior to that, she was Assistant Treasurer at Allied Waste Industries, a waste services company in the United States, since 1998. Before joining Allied Waste Industries, Ms. Apker was Vice President at First Interstate Bank of Arizona, a banking institution that was subsequently acquired by Wells Fargo. Prior to joining First Interstate Bank of Arizona, Ms. Apker spent 11 years at Greyhound Financial Corporation, a financial services company.
George F. Bednarz has served as Vice President, Publishing, Information Technology and Corporate Planning, since January 2003 and Vice President, Publishing and Information Technology, from April 2001. Previously, he served as Vice President and General Manager Publishing from 1999. Mr. Bednarz joined us in November 1995 to lead the start-up implementation of Donnelleys Morrisville, North Carolina Publishing and Information Center. Prior to joining us, Mr. Bednarz spent 19 years at D&B, where he held executive positions of increasing responsibility in various functions.
Robert J. Bush has served as General Counsel since January 2001. Since 2000, Mr. Bush served as Vice President and Corporate Secretary, having joined Donnelley in October 1999 as Assistant Vice President and Assistant General Counsel. Prior to joining us, Mr. Bush was Assistant General Counsel and Assistant Secretary at MIM Corporation, a pharmacy benefit management company, from 1998 to 1999, and an Associate at the New York offices of the law firm of Jones, Day, Reavis & Pogue (now known as Jones Day) from August 1993 to May 1998.
Thomas D. DOrazio has served as Vice President and Controller Elect of Donnelley since January 2004 and will assume the full duties of that position effective April 1, 2004. Prior to that, Mr. DOrazio served as Vice President and Corporate Controller at Pillowtex Corporation, a manufacturer of home textile products, since 2001. Pillowtex filed a voluntary petition for reorganization under the United States bankruptcy laws on July 30, 2003. Before joining Pillowtex, Mr. DOrazio was Corporate Controller at Glatfelter, a global manufacturer of specialty paper and engineered products, from 1998 and prior to that held several roles in finance organizations at textile companies. Through 1991, Mr. DOrazio spent three years at the Financial Accounting Standards Board.
William C. Drexler has served as Vice President and Controller of Donnelley since June 1999. Prior to that, Mr. Drexler served as Assistant Vice President of Finance since 1996. Mr. Drexler joined us in 1992 as Director of Accounting Operations. In 1995, he was named Director of Financial Planning for publishing and information services. Prior to joining Donnelley, Mr. Drexler held financial management positions of increasing responsibility with a number of manufacturing firms. Mr. Drexler will leave the Company during 2004.
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William M. Hammack has served as Vice President Strategy and Business Development since February 2004. Previously, Mr. Hammack was CEO of YPsolutions, an Internet software company he founded from 2001. Prior to that, Mr. Hammack spent two decades as an independent directory publisher. He is a past Chairman of the Association of Directory Publishers, the independent directory industrys largest trade group.
Debra M. Ryan has served as Vice President Human Resources since January 2002. Prior to that, Ms. Ryan served as Vice President Human Resources for R.H. Donnelley Inc. since 1994. Ms. Ryan joined Donnelley in 1973 as a sales representative and has held several management positions with increasing responsibility in the sales organization.
| ITEM 2. | PROPERTIES |
We currently conduct our pre-press publishing and graphics operations from one owned and two leased facilities with non-cancelable lease terms expiring at various dates through 2005. Our pre-press publishing facility is located in a leased 55,000 square foot building in Morrisville, North Carolina. We have graphics operations in an owned 25,000 square foot facility in Bristol, Tennessee and in a leased 20,000 square foot building in Dunmore, Pennsylvania. In connection with our headquarters relocation to North Carolina, we have entered into a lease for approximately 73,000 square feet expiring in 2015. The lease for our current headquarters in Purchase, New York is for 35,000 square feet and extends through 2011, but we have the option to cancel the lease in 2006 for a nominal fee. Once we vacate the space, we intend to assign or sublet this lease, subject to market conditions. We also lease 33,000 square feet of office space in Overland Park, Kansas that extends into 2009 for sales and certain administrative functions. We also lease space for local sales offices, which are typically fairly small and have relatively short terms. DonTech directly leases its own sales offices and corporate headquarters.
We believe that our facilities are adequate for their current use and our present operations.
| ITEM 3. | LEGAL PROCEEDINGS |
We are involved in various legal proceedings arising in the ordinary course of our business, as well as certain litigation and tax matters described below. We periodically assess our liabilities and contingencies in connection with these matters based upon the latest information available to us. For those matters where it is probable that we have incurred a loss and the loss or range of loss can be reasonably estimated, we record reserves in our consolidated financial statements. In other instances, we are unable to make a reasonable estimate of any liability because of the uncertainties related to both the probable outcome and amount or range of loss. As additional information becomes available, we adjust our assessment and estimates of such liabilities accordingly.
Based on our review of the latest information available, we believe our ultimate liability in connection with pending legal proceedings, including the litigation and tax matters described below, will not have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, cash flows or financial position, as described below.
In order to understand our potential exposure under the litigation and tax matters described below under the captions Information Resources, Inc. and Tax Matters, you need to understand the relationship between us and D&B, and certain of our predecessors and affiliates that, through various corporate reorganizations and contractual commitments, have assumed varying degrees of responsibility with respect to such matters.
In November 1996, the company then known as The Dun & Bradstreet Corporation separated through a spin-off (1996 Distribution) into three separate public companies: The Dun and Bradstreet Corporation, ACNielsen Corporation (ACNielsen), and Cognizant Corporation (Cognizant). In June 1998, The Dun & Bradstreet Corporation separated through a spin-off (1998 Distribution) into two separate public companies: R.H. Donnelley Corporation (formerly The Dun & Bradstreet Corporation) and a new company that changed its name to The Dun & Bradstreet Corporation. Later in 1998, Cognizant separated through a spin-off (Cognizant Distribution) into two separate public companies: IMS Health Incorporated (IMS), and Nielsen Media Research, Inc. (NMR). In September 2000, The Dun & Bradstreet Corporation separated into two separate public companies: Moodys Corporation (Moodys) (formerly The Dun & Bradstreet Corporation), and a new company that changed its name to The Dun & Bradstreet Corporation. As a result of the form of R.H. Donnelley Corporations separation from The Dun & Bradstreet Corporation in 1998, we are the corporate successor of and technically the defendant and taxpayer referred to below as D&B.
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Rockland Yellow Pages
In 1999, Sandy Goldberg, Dellwood Publishing, Inc. and Rockland Yellow Pages initiated a lawsuit against the Company and Bell Atlantic Corporation in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. The Rockland Yellow Pages is a proprietary directory that competes against a Bell Atlantic directory in the same region, for which we served as Bell Atlantics advertising sales agent through June 30, 2000. The complaint alleged that the defendants disseminated false information concerning the Rockland Yellow Pages, which resulted in damages to the Rockland Yellow Pages. In May 2001, the District Court dismissed substantially all of plaintiffs claims, and in August 2001, the remaining claims were either withdrawn by the plaintiffs or dismissed by the District Court. The plaintiffs then filed a complaint against the same defendants in New York State Supreme Court, in Rockland County, alleging virtually the same state law tort claim previously dismissed by the District Court and seeking unspecified damages. In October 2001, defendants filed a motion to dismiss this complaint. On May 5, 2002, the Court granted defendants motion to dismiss the complaint. Plaintiffs filed an appeal of this dismissal. On April 10, 2003, the Appellate Division heard oral arguments on the appeal, and on April 28, 2003, the Appellate Division dismissed all but one count of the complaint, which count alleges immaterial compensatory damages with respect to only one advertiser. Accordingly, we presently do not believe that the final outcome of this matter will have a material adverse effect on our results of operations or financial condition. We will no longer report on this matter.
Information Resources, Inc.
In 1996, Information Resources, Inc. (IRI) filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, naming as defendants the Company, as successor of D&B, ACNielsen and IMS, at the time of the filing, all wholly owned subsidiaries of D&B.
The complaint alleges various violations of U.S. antitrust laws under Sections 1 and 2 of the Sherman Act. The complaint also alleges a claim of tortious interference with a contract and a claim of tortious interference with a prospective business relationship. These claims relate to the acquisition by defendants of Survey Research Group Limited (SRG). IRI alleges SRG violated an alleged agreement with IRI when it agreed to be acquired by the defendants and that the defendants induced SRG to breach that agreement.
IRIs antitrust claims allege that the defendants developed and implemented a plan to undermine IRIs ability to compete within the U.S. and foreign markets in North America, Latin America, Asia, Europe and Australia/New Zealand through a series of anti-competitive practices, including: unlawfully tying/bundling services in the markets in which defendants allegedly had monopoly power with services in markets in which ACNielsen competed with IRI; entering into exclusionary contracts with retailers in certain countries to deny IRIs access to sales data necessary to provide retail tracking services or to artificially raise the cost of that data; predatory pricing; acquiring foreign market competitors with the intent of impeding IRIs efforts to expand; disparaging IRI to financial analysts and clients; and denying IRI access to capital necessary for it to compete.
IRIs complaint originally sought damages in excess of $350 million, which amount IRI sought to treble under antitrust laws. IRI has since revised its allegation of damages to exceed $650 million, which IRI also seeks to treble. IRI also seeks punitive damages of an unspecified amount.
In April 2003, the court denied a motion for partial summary judgment by the defendants that sought to dismiss certain of IRIs claims and granted in part a motion by IRI seeking reconsideration of certain summary judgment rulings the Court had previously made in favor of the defendants. The motion granted by the court concerns IRIs claims of injuries from defendants alleged conduct in certain foreign markets.
In connection with the 1996 Distribution, Cognizant (now NMR), ACNielsen and D&B entered into an Indemnity and Joint Defense Agreement (the JDA), pursuant to which they agreed to:
| | allocate potential liabilities that may relate to, arise out of or result from the IRI lawsuit (IRI Liabilities); and |
| | conduct a joint defense of such action. |
In particular, the JDA provides that:
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| | ACNielsen will assume exclusive liability for IRI Liabilities up to a maximum amount to be calculated at such time as such liabilities become payable as a result of a final non-appealable judgment or any settlement permitted under the JDA (the ACN Maximum Amount); and |
| | D&B and Cognizant will share liability equally for any amounts in excess of the ACN Maximum Amount. |
As noted above, ACNielsen is responsible for the IRI Liabilities up to the ACN Maximum Amount. The JDA provides that ACNielsen initially is to determine the amount that it will pay at the time of settlement or a final judgment, if any, in IRIs favor (the ACN Payment). The ACN Payment could be less than the ACN Maximum Amount. The JDA also provides for D&B and Cognizant to pay IRI 50% of the difference between the settlement or judgment amount and the ACN Payment. In exchange, the JDA requires ACNielsen to issue a secured note (the ACN Note), subject to certain limits and offsets, to each of D&B and Cognizant for the amount of their payment. The ACN Notes would become payable upon the completion of any recapitalization plan described in the next paragraph.
The ACN Maximum Amount will be determined by an investment banking firm as the maximum amount that ACNielsen is able to pay after giving effect to:
| | any recapitalization plan submitted by an investment bank that is designed to maximize the claims-paying ability of ACNielsen without impairing the investment banking firms ability to deliver a viability opinion and without requiring stockholder approval; and |
| | payment of interest on the ACN Notes and related fees and expenses. |
For these purposes, viability means the ability of ACNielsen, after giving effect to such recapitalization plan, the payment of interest on the ACN Notes, the payment of related fees and expenses, and the payment of the ACN Maximum Amount, to:
| | pay its debts as they become due; and |
| | finance the current and anticipated operating and capital requirements of its business, as reconstituted by such recapitalization plan, for two years from the date any such recapitalization plan is expected to be implemented. |
In 2001, ACNielsen was acquired by VNU N.V. (VNU). We understand that VNU has assumed ACNielsens liabilities under the JDA. Under the agreements relating to the Cognizant Distribution, IMS and NMR are each jointly and severally liable for all Cognizant liabilities under the JDA, although we understand that amongst themselves they have agreed to share the liability for these amounts as follows: 75% IMS and 25% NMR up to a maximum of $125 million.
Under the agreements relating to the 1998 Distribution, D&B assumed the defense and agreed to indemnify us against any payments that we may be required to make, including any liabilities arising under the JDA, and IRI Liabilities arising from the IRI action itself, and in each case related legal fees. As required by those agreements, Moodys Corporation, which subsequently separated from D&B in the 2000 Distribution, has agreed to be jointly and severally liable with D&B for the indemnity obligation to us. We understand that D&B and Moodys have agreed to share equally (50% each) these indemnity obligations to us.
However, because liability for violations of the antitrust laws is joint and several and because many of the rights and obligations relating to the JDA are based on contractual relationships, the inability or failure of any party to the JDA to fulfill its obligations could result in the other parties, including us, bearing a greater share of the IRI Liabilities. Joint and several liability means that even where more than one defendant is determined to have been responsible for alleged wrongdoing, the plaintiff can collect all or part of a judgment from any one or more of the responsible defendants. This is true regardless of any contractual allocation of responsibility or indemnification provisions, including those described above among VNU, ACNielsen, D&B, IMS, Moodys, NMR and us.
Discovery in the lawsuit is ongoing, and although the court originally set a trial date for September 2004, the court rescinded that date in January 2004, and there is currently no trial date set. We are unable to predict at this time the outcome of the IRI action or the financial condition of ACNielsen and VNU at the time of any such outcome (and hence we cannot estimate the ACN Maximum Amount and the portion of any judgment to be paid by VNU and ACNielsen under the JDA). Nonetheless, while we cannot assure you as to the outcome of this
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matter, management presently believes that (i) D&B and Moodys have sufficient financial resources, borrowing capacity and indemnity rights against IMS and NMR (who succeeded to Cognizants indemnity obligations under the Cognizant Distribution) and (ii) IMS and NMR in turn have sufficient financial resources and borrowing capacity to satisfy their indemnity obligations to D&B and Moodys, so as to reimburse us for any payments we may be required to make and related costs we may incur in connection with this matter.
Tax Matters
D&B entered into global tax-planning initiatives in the normal course of its business, primarily through tax-free restructurings of both its foreign and domestic operations. The status of Internal Revenue Service reviews of these initiatives is summarized below.
Pursuant to a series of agreements relating to the spin-offs and separations referred to above, IMS and NMR are jointly and severally liable for, and must pay one-half, and D&B and Moodys are jointly and severally liable for, and must pay the other half, of any payments over $137 million for taxes, accrued interest and other amounts resulting from unfavorable IRS rulings on the matters summarized below (other than the matter summarized below under Amortization and Royalty Expense Deductions 1997-2003, for which D&B and Moodys, jointly and severally, are solely responsible). D&B, on our behalf, was contractually obligated to pay, and did pay, the first $137 million of tax liability in connection with the matter summarized below as Utilization of Capital Losses 1989-1990. Under the terms of the 1998 Distribution, D&B agreed to assume the defense and to indemnify us for any tax liability that may be assessed against us and any related costs and expenses that we may incur in connection with any of these tax matters. Also, as required by those agreements, Moodys has agreed to be jointly and severally liable with D&B for the indemnity obligation to us. Under the terms of certain of the other spin-offs and separations, D&B and Moodys have, between each other, agreed to be financially responsible for 50% of any potential liabilities that may arise to the extent such potential liabilities are not directly attributable to each partys respective business operations.
While we cannot assure you as to the outcome in these matters, management presently believes that D&B and Moodys have sufficient financial resources, borrowing capacity and indemnity rights against IMS and NMR (who succeeded to Cognizants indemnity obligations under the Cognizant Distribution) and IMS and NMR in turn have sufficient financial resources and borrowing capacity to satisfy their respective indemnity obligations to D&B and Moodys, so as to reimburse us for any payments we may be required to make and related costs we may incur in connection with these tax matters.
Utilization of Capital Losses 1989-1990
In 2000, D&B filed an amended tax return with respect to the utilization of capital losses in 1989 and 1990 in response to a formal IRS notice of adjustment. The amended tax return reflected an additional $561.6 million of tax and interest due. In 2000, D&B paid the IRS $349.3 million while IMS (on behalf of itself and NMR) paid approximately $212.3 million. We understand that this payment was made under dispute in order to stop additional interest from accruing, that D&B is contesting the IRSs formal assessment and would also contest the assessment of amounts, if any, in excess of the amounts paid, and that D&B has filed a complaint for a refund in the United States District Court. This case is expected to go to trial in 2005. We believe that the fact that D&B and IMS have already paid the IRS a substantial amount of additional taxes with respect to the contested tax planning strategies significantly mitigates our risk.
Royalty Expense Deductions 1993-1997
In the second quarter of 2003, D&B received (on our behalf) an IRS examination report with respect to a partnership transaction entered into in 1993. Specifically, the IRS is proposing to disallow certain royalty expense deductions claimed by D&B on its 1993 through 1996 tax returns. We understand that D&B estimates that the disallowance of the 1993 and 1994 royalty expense deductions would result in a loss of $5 million in pending tax refunds and that the additional tax liability with respect to the disallowance of the 1995 and 1996 royalty expense deductions could be up to $44.1 million (tax, interest and penalties, net of associated tax benefits).
In addition, and also in the second quarter of 2003, D&B received on behalf of the partnership associated with the above transaction an IRS examination report challenging the tax treatment of certain royalty payments received by the partnership in which D&B was a partner. In that report, the IRS is seeking to reallocate certain partnership income to D&B. In January 2004, D&B received additional IRS Notices (similar to those received in the second
14
quarter of 2003) reflecting an additional tax liability of $1.6 million (tax, interest, and penalties, net of associated tax benefits) associated with D&Bs remaining interest in the partnership transaction (as described above) for the three months in 1997 for which the entities were partners. The additional tax liability with respect to D&Bs share of this income for the notices received in the second quarter of 2003 and January 2004 could be up to $21.9 million (tax, interest and penalties, net of associated tax benefits). We understand that D&B believes that these positions regarding the partnership are inconsistent with the IRS position with respect to the same royalty expense deductions described above. This $21.9 million additional liability would be in addition to the $44.1 million of additional liability related to royalty expense deductions discussed in the previous paragraph.
D&B has filed protests relating to these proposed adjustments with the IRS Office of Appeals. The parties are attempting to resolve these matters at the Appeals phase before proceeding to litigation, if necessary. If the IRS were to prevail in its position, D&B would share responsibility for the matter with Moodys, IMS and NMR, as disclosed above. If D&B were to challenge any of these IRS positions at any time in a U.S. District Court or the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, rather than in U.S. Tax Court, the disputed amounts would need to be paid in advance for the Court to have jurisdiction over the case.
Amortization and Royalty Expense Deductions 1997-2003
In the fourth quarter of 2003, D&B received (on our behalf) IRS Notices of Proposed Adjustment with respect to a partnership transaction entered into in 1997. In addition, D&B received, on behalf of the partnership, various IRS materials further explaining the examining agents position with respect to the activities of the partnership in 1997 and 1998. Specifically, the IRS asserted that certain amortization expense deductions claimed by D&B on its 1997 and 1998 tax returns should be disallowed. We understand that D&B estimates that the additional tax liability as a result of the disallowance of the 1997 and 1998 amortization deductions and the disallowance of such deductions claimed from 1999 to date could be up to $52 million (tax, interest and penalties, net of associated tax benefits. This transaction is scheduled to expire in 2012 and, unless earlier terminated, based on current interest rates and tax rates, additional tax exposure would increase at a rate of approximately $2.5 million per quarter (including potential penalties) as future amortization expenses are deducted.
In addition, the IRS has asserted that royalty expense deductions, claimed by D&B on its tax returns for 1997 and 1998 for royalties paid to the partnership should be disallowed. Relatedly, the IRS has asserted that the receipt of these same royalties by the partnership should be reallocated to and reported as royalty income by D&B, including the portions of the royalties that were allocated to third party partners in the partnership, and, thus, included in their taxable income. We understand that D&B believes that the IRS stated positions with respect to the treatment of the royalty expense and royalty income are mutually inconsistent, making it unlikely that the IRS will prevail on both of the positions. As a result, we understand that D&B estimates that after taking into account certain other tax benefits resulting from the IRS position on the partnership it is unlikely that there will be any additional cash tax payments due in addition to the amounts noted above related to the amortization expense deduction.
In the event the IRS were to prevail on both positions with respect to the royalty expense/income, which D&B believes unlikely, D&B estimates that the additional tax liability as a result of the disallowance of the 1997 and 1998 royalty expense deductions, the disallowance of such deductions claimed from 1999 to date and the inclusion of the reallocated royalty income for all relevant years could be up to $137 million (tax, interest and penalties, net of associated tax benefits). This $137 million would be in addition to the $52 million noted above related to the amortization expense deduction.
D&B is attempting to resolve these matters with the IRS before proceeding to IRS Appeals or litigation, if necessary. If D&B were to challenge any of these IRS positions at any time in U.S. District Court or the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, rather than in U.S. Tax Court, the disputed amounts for each applicable year would need to be paid in advance for the Court to have jurisdiction over the case.
As a result of our assessment of our exposure in these matters relating to our prior relationship with D&B and its former affiliates, especially in light of our indemnity arrangements with D&B and Moodys, and their respective financial resources, borrowing capacity and indemnity rights against IMS and NMR (and ACNielsen and VNU with respect to the IRI matter), and in turn IMS and NMRs (and ACNielsens and VNUs with respect to the IRI matter) respective financial resources and borrowing capacity to satisfy their respective indemnity obligations to D&B and Moodys, no material amounts have been accrued in our consolidated financial statements for any of these D&B-related litigation and tax matters.
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Coastal Termite and Pest Control
In 2001, Marnan Group, Inc., doing business as Coastal Termite and Pest Control (Coastal), filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida against SPA. The complaint, as amended, alleged that SPA breached certain directory advertising contracts between 1996 and 1999, fraudulently induced Coastal to enter into another directory advertising contract and tortiously interfered with Coastals business relationships with its customers. Coastal was seeking damages for lost contract benefits, lost profits and diminution of business value in an unspecified amount, including pre-judgment interest. In October 2003, the parties settled this dispute for an amount less than the $0.5 million reserved in the Companys financial statements in connection with the SPA acquisition. We will no longer report on this matter.
Other Matters
We are also involved in other legal proceedings, claims and litigation arising in the ordinary conduct of our business. Although we cannot assure you of any outcome, management presently believes that the outcome of such legal proceedings will not have a material adverse effect on our results of operations or financial condition and no material amounts have been accrued in our consolidated financial statements with respect to these matters.
| ITEM 4. | SUBMISSION OF MATTERS TO A VOTE OF SECURITY HOLDERS |
No matters were submitted to a vote of security holders, through the solicitation of proxies or otherwise, during the quarter ended December 31, 2003.
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PART II
| ITEM 5. | MARKET FOR REGISTRANTS COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES |
The Companys common stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol RHD. The table below indicates the high and low sales price of the Companys common stock for each quarter of the last two years.
| 2003 |
2002 |
|||||||||||||||
| High |
Low |
High |
Low |
|||||||||||||
1st Quarter |
$ | 32.22 | $ | 28.72 | $ | 30.96 | $ | 26.60 | ||||||||
2nd Quarter |
$ | 38.60 | $ | 28.86 | $ | 32.10 | $ | 27.30 | ||||||||
3rd Quarter |
$ | 41.40 | $ | 35.60 | $ | 27.91 | $ | 22.02 | ||||||||
4th Quarter |
$ | 43.20 | $ | 37.56 | $ | 29.92 | $ | 24.19 | ||||||||
On March 8, 2004, there were approximately 6,722 holders of record of the Companys common stock. On March 8, 2004, the closing market price of the common stock was $43.81. We have not paid any common dividends during the last two years and do not expect to pay common dividends in the foreseeable future. Our redeemable convertible cumulative preferred stock (Preferred Stock) earns a cumulative dividend of 8%, compounded quarterly. Without the consent of the holders of the Preferred Stock, we cannot pay Preferred Stock dividends in cash until October 2005; therefore, the dividend will accrete through September 2005. Beginning in October 2005, we may pay the Preferred Stock dividend in cash, subject to financial covenants under our Credit Facility, or, at our option, we may allow it to accrete. The stock purchase agreement with respect to the Preferred Stock and our various debt instruments contain various financial restrictions that place limitations on our ability to pay dividends in the future (see Item 7, Managements Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations Liquidity and Capital Resources for additional information regarding these instruments and agreements and relevant limitations thereunder).
The following table sets forth securities outstanding under existing equity compensation plans, as well as securities remaining available for future issuance under those plans, in each case as of December 31, 2003.
Equity Compensation Plan Information
| (c) | ||||||||||||
| Number of securities | ||||||||||||
| (a) | remaining available for | |||||||||||
| Number of securities | (b) | future issuance under | ||||||||||
| to be issued upon | Weighted-average | equity compensation | ||||||||||
| exercise of | exercise price of | plans (excluding | ||||||||||
| outstanding options, | outstanding options, | securities reflected in | ||||||||||
| Plan category |
and rights |
warrants and rights |
in column (a)) |
|||||||||
Equity
compensation plans approved by security holders(1) |
2,286,866 | $ | 26.85 | 1,609,009 | ||||||||
Equity compensation plans not
approved by security holders: |
||||||||||||
1991 Key Employees Stock
Option Plan(2) |
982,232 | $ | 16.81 | 0 | ||||||||
1998 Key Employees
Performance Unit Plan(3) |
69,809 | $ | 35.03 | 0 | ||||||||
1998 Directors Stock Plan(4) |
19,650 | $ | 17.32 | 0 | ||||||||
1998 Partner Share Plan(5) |
17,550 | $ | 15.31 | 0 | ||||||||
2001 Partner Share Plan(6) |
38,114 | $ | 26.45 | 0 | ||||||||
Total |
3,414,221 | $ | 24.01 | 1,609,009 | ||||||||
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| (1) | This reflects securities covered by our 2001 Stock Award and Incentive Plan (2001 Plan), which was adopted and approved by our shareholders at our 2001 Annual Meeting of Stockholders. | |
| (2) | This reflects options still outstanding under our 1991 Key Employees Stock Option Plan (1991 Plan). This plan was originally a D&B plan that was carried over at the time of the Spin-off from D&B. The 2001 Plan replaced the 1991 Plan and all shares available for grant under the 1991 Plan became available for grant under the 2001 Plan upon its approval by stockholders; provided, however, all options then outstanding remained subject to the terms and conditions of the 1991 Plan. | |
| (3) | This reflects the performance shares (PERS) still outstanding under our 1998 Key Employees Performance Unit Plan (PUP Plan). Upon completion of the respective performance period, a dollar amount of the award is determined for each recipient based on the Companys actual financial performance against economic profit and earnings per share goals. The dollar amount is then converted into a number of PERS by dividing the dollar amount of the award by the Companys stock price (calculated as the average of the high and low prices of the Companys common stock on the ten trading days subsequent to delivery of the Companys respective audited consolidated financial statements to the Compensation and Benefits Committee of the Companys Board of Directors) at that time. The above computation is based on a stock price of $35.03, which reflects the weighted average of (a) the price of $28.04 at which outstanding awards were converted under the 1999 PERS grant, and (b) $39.93 (the average market price of the companys common stock as of December 31, 2003) for awards to be converted in March 2004 under the 2001 PERS grant. The 2001 Plan replaced the PUP Plan and all shares available for grant under the PUP Plan became available for grant under the 2001 Plan upon its approval by stockholders; provided, however, all awards then outstanding remained subject to the terms and conditions of the PUP Plan. | |
| (4) | This reflects shares and options still outstanding under our 1998 Directors Stock Plan (1998 Director Plan). The 2001 Plan replaced the 1998 Director Plan and all shares available for grant under the 1998 Director Plan became available for grant under the 2001 Director Plan upon its approval by stockholders; provided, however, all shares and options then outstanding remained subject to the terms and conditions of the 1998 Director Plan. | |
| (5) | This reflects options still outstanding under our 1998 Partner Share Plan (1998 PS Plan), which was a broad-based plan covering lower level employees not eligible for grants under the 1991 Plan. The Plan only authorized 262,000 shares for grant at its inception and only 17,550 shares remain outstanding. The 2001 Plan replaced the 1998 PS Plan and all shares available for grant under the 1998 PS Plan became available for grant under the 2001 Plan upon its approval by stockholders; provided, however, all shares and options then outstanding remained subject to the terms and conditions of the 1998 PS Plan. | |
| (6) | This reflects options still outstanding under our 2001 Partner Share Plan (2001 PS Plan), which was a broad-based plan covering lower level employees whose grants were made prior to shareholder approval of the 2001 Plan. The Plan only authorized 124,750 shares for grant at its inception and only 38,114 remain outstanding. The 2001 Plan replaced this Plan and all shares available for grant under this 2001 PS Plan became available for grant under the 2001 Plan upon its approval by stockholders; provided, however, all shares and options then outstanding remained subject to the terms and conditions of the original 2001 PS Plan. |
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| ITEM 6. | SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA |
The following selected financial data are derived from our audited consolidated financial statements. The information set forth below should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements and related notes in Item 8 and with Managements Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations in Item 7.
| Years Ended December 31, |
||||||||||||||||||||
| (in thousands, except per share data) |
2003 |
2002 |
2001 |
2000 |
1999 |
|||||||||||||||
Statement of Operations Data (1) |
||||||||||||||||||||
Net revenue |
$ | 256,445 | $ | 75,406 | $ | 80,253 | $ | 141,287 | $ | 181,905 | ||||||||||
Partnership income |
114,052 | 136,873 | 139,964 | 147,693 | 139,181 | |||||||||||||||
Operating income |
92,526 | <|||||||||||||||||||